But assuming that HF only provides 1.6TH as the MPP for each BJ, I know that the "point of reasonableness" passed some time ago. The MPP was for hashing power, not space heaters.
I suspect a legal handle could be found, although I'm hardly an expert. Just my gut feeling.
This is a letter vs. spirit debate. The question is how much lower instance courts are concerned about intends.
Let me play devils advocate a bit:
Many customers fall short, both on letters and intend. They were fooled into accepting revised and rewritten contracts (e.g. refund&release forms) and by doing so they showed compliance with the practices of the company. Either you're blowing the whistle right away or never. Anything in between puts you into a weak position.
I am not defending what HashFast is doing, I am merely pointing out that you need to play the ball persistently in one direction if you want to have a plausible case. Otherwise HashFast (rightfully) can claim that the customer doesn't really know what they want. That's why those mass actions are highly specific to particular customers - because little nuances in the interaction and communication can put a case into a totally different light.
A totally different beast is the question of fraud (intentionally withholding cash or hardware from customers, i.e. taking deliberate actions which harm the revenue of customers) - but that already goes beyond an attempt to recover contractual substance and is a strategy to break their exploitative business model.
Sure. I agree that those who sacrificed their claim to the MPP one way or another probably wouldn't be judged by anybody to be owed it. Speaking for myself, I've never signed any releases or agreed to any postponements. At one point I asked about a refund for the card, but didn't sign because Hashfast refused to provide a release that did anything but absolve them of "any and all" past, present, and future claims. I said I would not absolve them of "any and all claims" because even if they refunded the upgrade, they still owed me the MPP. I said that to them a couple of times, and they refused to reply on point.
I'm thinking at this point that it's whatever legal strategy breaks through first that may determine a lot of this. Arbitration, the bitcoin recovery suits, or the "forced bankruptcy". Personally, given my comparatively low level of investment and lack of interest in extended litigation, the only legal strategy that makes sense to far is the "forced bankruptcy" petition. I kind of like the strategy as a matter of principle too, because if it worked, we would likely all be treated fairly and we would likely learn the truth of what has happened. (Which surely might reveal legal issues including fraud.)
And if Hashfast responds by "paying off" the people in that suit, then if I'm part of it, I will certainly make knowledge of that public, so that others can follow suit and file their own actions.